About to Start my first Tank but unsure whether to use Live or Dry Rock

[Lindebrah]

Hello all,

After spending what feels like the last few months researching as much as I can about Reef Aquariums, I've decided it's finally time to take the plunge and start one for myself. However, I'm unsure whether I should use Live or Dry rock. I understand that dry rock is cheaper and doesn't contain any pests and that live rock is more expensive, will cycle your tank faster but you risk having unwanted pests.

I am leaning towards live rock at this point and am planning on picking it up at my LFS and immediately putting it into my tank. The dry rock from my LFS looks like this (). I'm not sure if there is a way to tell whether or not it is good quality or if it is currently curing or will need to cure when I get it home.

I am leaning towards going with live rock but have a few questions:

1) The tank I have is the Fluval Sea Evo 13.5g, so I will need about 13-15lbs of live rock. Is it likely that I will have some pests or is it hard to say?
2) Can I transport the live rock from my LFS and directly place it into my tank with live sand and water to start the cycle? Do I need to do any curing?
3) At what point do you know that the rock has no pests and you can safely add fish to the aquarium?

Thanks

 

[Spare time]

Dry rock 100%. No use in getting all the pests that come with live rock. Using some ammonium chloride from dr tims and a bottle of bacteira will cycle the tank in a week.

Also, you will discover pests over time with live rock. You can't tell just by looking.

 

[KenO]

I ordered my LR from KP Aquatics in Florida. Yes there were some pests, but it is so worth it to get LR. In a tank that small you can easily watch for pests. I put mine in a 14 gallon tank to begin with. It took a few months to find all the pests. Most I found quickly. It's all the good stuff you find that is amazing. I eventually moved the rock into my larger setup. To this day I'm still finding small clams or scallops tucked into the rocks here and there. I wish I could have done my larger tanks, but I would have needed hundreds of pounds of LR. So my vote is go for it. Phillip at KP Aquatics also found me smaller rocks since it went into my nano tank first.

 

[keywestreefer]

Hi there! Welcome! I am just beginning my build as well. This forum has been a GREAT resource for information and the members are top notch! After all my research I’ve decided to go with Marco Rock. I was really leaning towards live rock, but nothing happens overnight in this hobby. I was a bonsai enthusiast for many years prior to deciding to get back into reefing. I previously had a bio cube for a couple of years but was no where near as educated as I am now on the topic. In the last several weeks I have plugged in hours of copious research. My opinion is that I would rather spend more time admiring the fish and the coral than chasing out the pests. The other goodies and fun stuff will come with time.....and $$$$. Live rock and dry rock each have their advantages and disadvantages. It was probably one of the harder choices I made when going with this build. At the end of the day you will get people here advocating that their way is the best. At the end of the day, it is all personal preference, analyzing the risks, and determining what suits your needs. I am contemplating a piece of live rock for my coral QT which will sit in a bare bottom tank for probably 4 months which would allow me time to pick off any pests and locate them. Good luck and remember to share your choice and post lots of pictures.

 

[Small triggers]

Thankfully for my last tank I had a 50g tank with live rock and bought a ton of marco rock special cut pieces. I'll say, while the biodiversity of life rock is awesome, I'd prefer to pick one or 2 nice looking pieces and then go with choice dry rock. You'll get better looking options as alot of available live rock is not pretty.

 

[KenO]

I went and found the pictures of the LR I got from KP Aquatics. The pieces were really nice and full of life.

 

[X-37B]

In a tank that small all live rock.
Bring a bucket and fill it with water above the rock and bring it home. Most likely no cycle.
Its what I did on my 25 nano cube.
On my 120 50/50. Live and caribsea dry.